Method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for aiding emergency response

ABSTRACT

Presented are a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for aiding emergency response. The method includes receiving, by a processor, a plurality of data corresponding to a geographic location from a plurality of data sources. The method further includes aggregating, by the processor, the plurality of data. The method still further includes determining, by the processor, a first profile and a second profile based on the aggregated plurality of data. The method can conclude with transmitting, by the processor, the first profile to a plurality of user equipments and the second profile to at least one user equipment, wherein the at least one user equipment is different from the plurality of user equipments.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method,apparatus, and computer-readable medium for aiding emergency response.The present disclosure relates more specifically to providingspecialized intelligence for enhanced emergency response.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensurepublic safety and health by addressing different emergencies that arise.Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types ofemergencies while others deal with ad hoc emergencies as part of theirnormal responsibilities. Many of these agencies engage in communityawareness and prevention programs to help the public avoid, detect, andreport emergencies effectively. The availability of emergency servicesdepends very heavily on location, and may in some cases also rely on therecipient receiving the service.

There are three main emergency service functions: (1) the police, whichprovide community safety and law enforcement to reduce crime againstpersons and property; (2) the fire department (fire and rescueservices), which provide firefighters to deal with fire and rescueoperations as well as some secondary emergency service duties; (3) theemergency medical service (EMS), which provides ambulances and staff todeal with medical emergencies. In some countries these three functionsare performed by three separate organizations. However, there are alsomany countries where fire, rescue and ambulance services are allperformed by a single organization.

Emergency services typically have one or more dedicated emergencytelephone numbers reserved for critical emergency calls. In somecountries, one number is used for all the emergency services. In somecountries, each emergency service has its own emergency number.Throughout the United States 911 is used as the telephone number foremergency services.

The goal of most emergency medical services is to either providetreatment to those in need of urgent medical care, with the goal ofsatisfactorily treating the presented conditions, and arranging fortimely removal of the patient to the next point of definitive care. Thisis most likely an emergency department at a hospital. The term emergencymedical service has evolved to reflect a change from a simple system ofambulances providing only transportation, to a system in which actualmedical care is given on scene and during transport.

In most places in the world, the EMS is summoned by members of thepublic (or other emergency services, businesses, or authorities) via anemergency telephone number which puts them in contact with a controlfacility, which will then dispatch a suitable resource to deal with thesituation.

In some jurisdictions, EMS units may handle technical rescue operationssuch as extrication, water rescue, and search and rescue. Training andqualification levels for members and employees of emergency medicalservices vary widely throughout the world. In some systems, some membersof an EMS team may only qualify to drive the ambulance because they haveno medical training. In contrast, most systems have personnel who retainat least basic first aid certifications. Additionally many EMS systemsare staffed with advanced life support personnel, including paramedics,or nurses.

Emergency medical services exist to fulfill the basic principles offirst aid, which are to preserve life, prevent further injury, andpromote recovery. The six stages of high quality pre-hospital careinclude: (1) Early detection-members of the public, or another agency,find the incident and understand the problem; (2) Early reporting—thefirst persons on scene make a call to the emergency medical services andprovide details to enable a response to be mounted; (3) Earlyresponse—the first professional (EMS) rescuers arrive on scene asquickly as possible, enabling care to begin; (4) Good on-scene care—theemergency medical service provides appropriate and timely interventionsto treat the patient at the scene of the incident; (5) Care intransit—the emergency medical service load the patient in to suitabletransport and continue to provide appropriate medical care throughoutthe journey; (6) Transfer to definitive care—the patient is handed overto an appropriate care setting, such as the emergency department at ahospital.

A first responder is a person who arrives first at the scene of anemergency, whose job is to respond to the immediate risk to health,life, property, or environment. First responders may be dispatched bythe ambulance service, may be passers-by, citizen volunteers, or membersof other agencies such as the police, fire department, or search andrescue who have some medical training.

Typically at the beginning of an emergency situation either the personwho is injured, in a fire, or a victim to a crime reports thedangerous/emergency incident by calling 911. Once the victim, otherindividual, or automated system contacts 911, the 911 dispatcher obtainsinformation from the victim including the type of emergency situation,the number of people involved in the emergency situation and thelocation of the emergency situation. The purpose of acquiring this typeof information is for the proper emergency services to be procured aswell as to provide information for the emergency responders that arriveon scene. The information provides the first responders with advancedinformation regarding the emergency and how to correctly respond.

However, the amount of information that can be provided by theindividual who calls emergency services is limited to the knowledge ofthe caller and the know-how of the emergency responders that arrive onscene.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for aidingemergency response.

A first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a methodfor aiding emergency response. The method includes receiving, by aprocessor, a plurality of data corresponding to a geographic locationfrom a plurality of data sources and aggregating, by the processor, theplurality of data. This embodiment further includes determining, by theprocessor, a first profile and a second profile based on the aggregatedplurality of data. This embodiment also includes transmitting, by theprocessor, the first profile to a plurality of user equipments and thesecond profile to at least one user equipment, wherein the at least oneuser equipment is different from the plurality of user equipments.

A second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides anapparatus including at least one processor and at least one memorystoring computer program instructions, wherein the at least one memorywith the computer program instructions is configured with the at leastone processor to cause the apparatus to at least receive a plurality ofdata corresponding to a geographic location from a plurality of datasources. The at least one memory with the computer program instructionsis configured with the at least one processor to further cause theapparatus to at least aggregate the plurality of data and determine afirst profile and a second profile based on the aggregated plurality ofdata. The at least one memory with the computer program instructions isconfigured with the at least one processor to further cause theapparatus to at least transmit the first profile to a plurality of userequipments and the second profile to at least one user equipment,wherein the at least one user equipment is different from the pluralityof user equipments.

A third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides anon-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly including computerprogram instructions, which, when executed by a processor, causes theprocessor to at least receive a plurality of data corresponding to ageographic location from a plurality of data sources. Thecomputer-readable medium including computer program instructions whenexecuted on the processor further cause the processor to at leastaggregate the plurality of data and determine a first profile and asecond profile based on the aggregated plurality of data. Thecomputer-readable medium including computer program instructions whenexecuted on the processor further cause the processor to at leasttransmit the first profile to a plurality of user equipments and thesecond profile to at least one user equipment, wherein the at least oneuser equipment is different from the plurality of user equipments.

The following will describe embodiments of the present disclosure, butit should be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited tothe described embodiments and various modifications of the invention arepossible without departing from the basic principle. The scope of thepresent disclosure is therefore to be determined solely by the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the different elements suitable for use inpracticing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the stepsfor enhanced emergency response.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary profile suitable for use with exemplaryembodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is another exemplary profile suitable for use with exemplaryembodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a logic flow diagram in accordance with a method, apparatus,and computer-readable medium for performing exemplary embodiments ofthis disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of devices suitable for practicing exemplaryembodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting the operation of a load-balancingproxy server in accordance with exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging system inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a messaging diagram in accordance with practicing exemplaryembodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a signal diagram in accordance with practicing exemplaryembodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 11 is another signal diagram in accordance with practicingexemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 12 is another signal diagram in accordance with practicingexemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

When an emergency occurs, emergency responders either have or areprovided a finite amount of information regarding the emergencysituation. An emergency situation includes any type of situation thatposes an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment. Thisinformation is provided from a number of different sources. First, theindividual that calls the 911 dispatcher and reports the emergencytypically provides on-site information. Second, known information aboutthe emergency situation such as location information can be relayed fromthe 911 dispatcher to the emergency responder. Third, the emergencyresponder may already be aware of information particular to theemergency situation, such as information regarding the neighborhooddepending on where the emergency situation is located.

While the information transfer may allow emergency responders to respondto emergencies, there is a need for first responders to be more informedwhen responding to emergency situations such that they can moreappropriately respond. There is also a need to provide a means to betterallocate emergency resources for improved emergency response. Anemergency resource includes any type of personnel, equipment, orstructure that can aid in responding to an emergency situation.Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a means forgathering and sending enhanced information to first responders oremergency responders about an emergency situation.

Referring to FIG. 1, provided is a block diagram of the elements of anexemplary system for performing exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure. Shown in FIG. 1 are server 128, a 911 dispatcher 116, publicand private databases 118, medical records databases 120, real-timeinformation systems 122, emergency responder user equipments 124, andemergency commander user equipment 126.

Server 128 may contain a processor and a memory that stores computerprogram instructions which when executed on the processor cause server128 to perform exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Server 128 isoperably able to communicate with and receive data from 911 dispatcher116, public and private databases 118, medical records databases 120,real-time information systems 122, emergency responder user equipments124, and emergency commander user equipments 126. Server 128 may be ableto communicate with the other elements 116, 118, 120, 122, 124, and 126either via a wired or wireless connection. Server 128 may also be ableto communicate with the other elements of FIG. 1 over the internet orthrough a closed network, such as a wireless area network or local areanetwork (LAN). Server 128 may be one server with one processor and onememory or it may include multiple servers that are interconnected to oneanother with multiple processors and multiple memories.

As shown in FIG. 1, server 128 can receive information or communicatewith 911 dispatcher 116. 911 dispatcher 116 provides, communicates, andtransmits to server 128 information gathered by a 911 dispatcher. Afteror during a 911 call the 911 dispatcher can provide the informationgathered during the 911 call to server 128 via communication line 102.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is public & private databases 118, which transmitsvia communication line 104 relevant information to the emergencysituation to server 128. Public & private databases 118 include a widearray of information sources. Public & private databases 118 includeshistoric records maintained by local city, town, and countymunicipalities; historic records maintained by state and federalgovernments; records developed by emergency services organizations; anddatabases compiled by educational institutions. Public & privatedatabases 118 also includes private databases maintained by privatecompanies or organizations that have made their information available toserver 128. Public & private databases 118 may also include property taxrecords; census data including income and demographic data; consumptiondata, information gathered from airports, shopping malls, hospitals,hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and schools; real estate information;and data from public services and utilities.

Medical Records Databases 120 can transmit via communication line 106information relevant to the emergency situation to server 128. MedicalRecords Databases 120 includes any databases that contain or maintainmedical records for groups or individuals. Medical Records Databases 120may include public records available to anyone or it may also includeprivate records maintained by governments, doctors, hospitals,diagnostic centers, or insurance companies. Medical Records Databases120 also may include medical or personal vital information gathered frompersonal monitoring devices as well as information regardingmedications, allergies, and mental or physical conditions pertaining tothe individual or individuals involved in an emergency. Medical RecordsDatabases 120 may include updated medical information gathered byemergency responders at the location of the instant emergency situation.

Real-Time Information Systems 122 can transmit via communication line108 information relevant to the emergency situation to server 128.Real-Time Information Systems 122 includes any real time informationavailable through public and private services. For example, Real-TimeInformation Systems 122 may include traffic information gathered fromtraffic cameras. It may also include information gathered from police,fire department or emergency medical services communication lines. Itmay also include other systems that can provide live real-timeinformation.

In exemplary embodiments server 128 can aggregate through the vastamounts of information received from 911 Dispatcher 116, Public &Private Databases 118, Medical Records Databases 120, and Real-TimeInformation Systems 122 and determine two profiles based on theaggregated information. The aggregating in one embodiment includes theuse of an algorithm that analyzes all of the received data forindicators of a geographic location and relevance to the emergency. Therelevant data is then categorized based on for instance the type ofinformation and then placed into a first profile.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the information received by server128 from 911 Dispatcher 116, Public & Private Databases 118, MedicalRecords Databases 120, and Real-Time Information Systems 122 is routedto for example the nearest server 128 based on the geographic origin ofthe information. In this embodiment server 128 includes multiple serverswith multiple processors and memories that are interconnected andlocated in different geographic locations. This will provide bothredundancy in the network between different servers and the differentdatabases, and the shortest path for the information to connect toserver 128.

911 Dispatcher 116, Public & Private Databases 118, Medical RecordsDatabases 120, and Real-Time Information Systems 122 can connect to theclosest server 128 based on geographic internet protocol lookupmechanisms and then transfer the data or information to server 128. Oncethe data is transferred, server 128 may aggregate through the receiveddata by performing subsequent lookups on the data based on its source.For instance, server 128 may receive data from multiple sources such asdatabases, email, phones, mobile phones, or police scanners. The datawill be sent to the closest server 128 and server 128 can aggregatethrough the data and determine the source and type of data. For example,if the data is an audio stream from a fire department, server 128 willcategorize that data and send it to the location of the other audio datacollected.

For other types of data, such as email, the from address and the toaddress can be examined to determine how to categorize and route thedata. In other embodiments, emails can be embedded with meta data thatindicate the exact source and destination of the email. In otherembodiments, each individual server 128 is capable of handling each kindof data or message. Accordingly, based on the results of the lookups,server 128 will internally route the information to a series ofsecondary servers, which then determine the information that will beincluded in the first and second profile based on relevancy to theemergency and user selected parameters.

The first profile will be provided to the Emergency Responder UserEquipments 124 via communication line 110 and the second profile will beprovided to the Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 via communicationline 114.

It should be appreciated that in exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure information already present or sent to server 128 can beaggregated prior to receiving notification of an emergency from 911Dispatcher 116. In this embodiment, server 128 will use the informationthat has already been aggregated in conjunction with updated informationfrom 911 Dispatcher 116, Public & Private Databases 118, Medical RecordsDatabases 120, and Real-Time Information Systems 122 to create anddetermine the first profile and the second profile.

Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 can include any type of mobileuser equipment that can be used and carried by an emergency responder tosend and receive communications from server 128 via communication lines110 and 112, respectively. An exemplary Emergency Responder UserEquipment could be a mobile phone. Emergency Responder User Equipments124 can receive via communication line 112 multicast messages fromserver 128 with the first profile containing information relevant to theemergency. Other exemplary embodiments of Emergency Responder UserEquipments 124 also include electronic devices or wearables that can beworn by an individual or carried and can both send and receive data,such as two-way radios, smartphones, tablets, wristband devices, ear budcommunicators and the like.

Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 are also able to send to server128 via communication line 110 updated emergency information, such ascurrent location information of the emergency responder and updatedemergency information obtained when the emergency responder arrives atthe location of the emergency. Since each emergency responder will notalways be active or available to respond to emergencies, exemplaryembodiments of Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 allow for theuser to select whether his/her Emergency Responder User Equipment 124will share its location information with server 128. Once the EmergencyResponder User Equipments 124 transmit their location information it maybe routed to the nearest server 128 which in turn updates the first orsecond profile. The updated emergency information can include medicalinformation of the victim, building or perimeter information regardingthe size, make-up and layout of the building or perimeter, orcriminal/safety information. The Emergency Responder User Equipments 124may also send updated information to server 128 with the expertise andskill set information of the particular emergency responder using theuser equipment.

The first profile received by Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 inexemplary embodiments contains traffic navigation information from aparticular emergency responder's location to the location of theemergency situation. The first profile may depict a map and will be ableto provide the best possible route from the emergency responder'slocation to the location of the emergency as server 128 has taken intoaccount other emergencies, road conditions and detours. It should benoted that the first profile may vary between different EmergencyResponder User Equipments as it is assumed that each emergency responderis at least in a different physical location and has different skillsets or expertise.

The first profile may also differ or vary between different EmergencyResponder User Equipments 124 as each profile received by the EmergencyResponder User Equipments 124 can be customized by the EmergencyCommander User Equipment 126, which can transmit and receive specializedinformation sent to one or a group of particular Emergency ResponderUser Equipments 124. The Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 canupdate the first profile such that it includes emergency intelligence ordirections as how to properly respond to a specific emergency. This isan exemplary embodiment of user specific information. User specificinformation includes any type of information that is or would berelevant only for specific emergency responders and would not beapplicable to emergency responders generally.

The first profile also may contain medical information about theindividual or individuals involved in the emergency. Based on theparticular type of emergency entered by the 911 Dispatcher 116, server128 will provide to Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 through thefirst profile, pertinent medical information about the individual orindividuals involved in the emergency. For example, the 911 Dispatcher116 may provide information to server 128 that an individual is having aheart attack. Medical Records Databases 120 may provide among otherthings information to server 128 indicating that this individual suffersfrom an allergy to aspirin. This information could be included in thefirst profile provided to Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 suchthat when the emergency responders arrive at the scene of the emergencythey already know not to administer aspirin to the victim.

In other exemplary embodiments, the first profile may contain medicalinformation indicating that the individual or individuals involved inthe emergency have special needs. For example, the first profile maycontain medical information indicating that one or more of theindividuals involved in the emergency situation is handicapped orrequires a wheelchair, or is on oxygen. This type of information willenable emergency responders to be more prepared when they arrive at thescene of the emergency as they may be able to plan and bring the properspecial needs equipment.

In other exemplary embodiments, the first profile may also includebiometric information of the individual or individuals involved in theemergency situation. The biometric information will allow in someinstances for the emergency responders to verify the identity of theindividual or individuals involved in the emergency situation. Thebiometric information in some exemplary embodiments allow for theindividual or individuals involved in the emergency situation to verifythe biometric information and provide a release of their medical recordsto the emergency responders for a specified period of time. Exemplaryembodiments of biometric information include fingerprint scans, retinalscans, photographs and the like. In other exemplary embodiments, thespecified period of time that the medical records are released to theemergency responders can be customized or adjusted by the emergencycommander or from inputs by the Emergency Commander User Equipment 126.

The first profile may also include predictive information about theemergency. For instance, based on the aggregated information in server128, the predictive information may include the likelihood in terms of apercentage of the cause of the emergency, a likely best possibleresponse to the emergency or the likelihood of certain elements at thelocation of the emergency, such as the possibility of a defibrillator ora firearm. The predictive information in some exemplary embodiments mayprovide the likelihood of an occurrence that could endanger theemergency responders based on the time of the day, the day of the week,or time of the year. The predictive information may also include inother exemplary embodiments historical events, such as games, parades,or weather patterns that may typically occur. For instance, the firstprofile may include information regarding an unsanctioned, unapproved,or unscheduled parade or march that typically occurs on the date inquestion that is near the location of an emergency situation. Since theparade or march is not scheduled, the first profile would provide anestimated guess that it would occur.

The first profile may also include perimeter intelligence informationabout the location of the emergency. Perimeter intelligence informationwill include any type of information that may prove useful about thelocation of the emergency to the emergency responders. For instance, ifthe emergency is a fire in a building, the perimeter intelligence mayprovide information about nearby buildings, such as whether it containshazardous or flammable chemicals. The perimeter intelligence may alsoprovide the number of bedrooms that are in a particular building orhouse, the location of the bedrooms, and which bedrooms are occupied.This type of information will provide essential to the fire fighters onthe scene such that they can appropriately respond to the fire andprevent an emergency from escalating.

The perimeter intelligence may also include information about themake-up of the building where the emergency is located, or informationpertaining to events or individuals of interest in the area of theemergency situation that may affect the ability of emergency respondersto properly respond to the emergency. The perimeter intelligence mayinclude information about individuals of interest in the area of theemergency location, such as criminals known to be in the area. If thelocation of the emergency is in an area with high rates of crime thenthis information may be included in the perimeter intelligence.

In other exemplary embodiments, the perimeter intelligence includesaccess to photographs or videos detailing the location of the emergency.This can provide information regarding the layout of the emergencylocation or the current state of the location. For instance, theemergency location may be in an abandoned building and the photographsor video may show emergency responders the state of decay.Alternatively, the photographs or videos could be from other emergencyresponders that are already at the scene of the emergency situation inorder to provide updates to the emergency commander or other emergencyresponders that have not yet arrived at the scene of the emergency.

Exemplary embodiments of the first profile include displaying multipleemergencies and emergency locations. In the case that multipleemergencies are displayed in the first profile, each emergency may besignified differently in the first profile order to notify the emergencyresponders the importance or urgency of a particular emergency. Forexample, if an emergency involving a river or water hazard appears inthe first profile and a particular emergency responder is a rescuediver, that particular emergency may be prioritized for that emergencyresponder in the first profile through the use of a different color,symbol, indicator, or the like. This is an exemplary embodiment of auser specific information.

Exemplary embodiments of the first profile also provide that differentemergencies may appear differently for different emergency respondersdue to the particular skill set of the emergency responder. Forinstance, an emergency responder with specialized skills in cardiacemergencies may have emergencies dealing with cardiac arrest prioritizedby having that particular emergency appear in a different color, symbolor indicator than for other types of emergencies in their first profile.Exemplary embodiments of the first profile provide that differentemergencies and resources may appear in differing colors or symbolsindicating a level of importance or urgency. The appearance of aparticular emergency may also be displayed or shown indicating the ageof the emergency. A recent emergency may appear in a different color orsymbol than an emergency that was reported hours or minutes earlier.This is an exemplary embodiment of a user specific information.

Additionally, each emergency detailed in the first profile may alsoinclude a risk assessment of the emergency. This will indicatevolatility of the situation and a level of danger to emergencyresponders. The risk assessment will provide information regardingwhether it is safe for emergency responders to enter the location wherethe emergency is located. The risk assessment may also provide warningsto emergency responders as to known or predicted pitfalls that mightawait them at the emergency location.

In another exemplary embodiment, the first profile can be configured orcustomized by the Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 such thatparticular Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 can have the abilityto communicate to one another. For example, five different emergencyresponders may respond to a single emergency situation. All fiveemergency responders may not be arriving together or at the same time.Accordingly, the Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 could customizethe first profile received by these five Emergency Responder UserEquipments 124 such that the emergency responders using these EmergencyResponder User Equipments 124 can communicate with one another in orderto coordinate their response efforts or to update other emergencyresponders as to the situation. This is an exemplary embodiment of userspecific information.

As 911 dispatcher 116 receives more calls for emergencies, server 128will continuously update the first profile with new emergencies. Basedon the skill set or expertise of a particular emergency responder,server 128 will tailor the first profile such that emergencies that aremore suited for a particular emergency responder are prioritized,highlighted or displayed in a different color. Server 128 will alsotailor the first profile such that emergency responders that lackcertain qualifications required to appropriately respond to a givenemergency are not notified in their first profile of that particularemergency.

Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 is able to receive and send datato server 128 via communication lines 114 and 130, respectively.Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 operably receives viacommunication line 114 the second profile from server 128. EmergencyCommander User Equipment 126 is also able to send via communication line130 updated information to server 128. Some exemplary embodiments ofupdated information include information sent to the Emergency ResponderUser Equipments 124, such as indicators directing certain emergencyresponders to respond to an emergency or additional real-timeinformation or know-how from the emergency commander.

Exemplary embodiments of an Emergency Commander User Equipment 126include a mobile user equipment such as a mobile phone, personalcomputer or the combination of numerous displays, processors,computer-readable memories, and keyboards/touch displays. Exemplaryembodiments of an Emergency Commander User Equipment 126 also includecommand centers and mobile command centers that provide for support,communication with and allocation of resources for emergency responders.

The second profile in exemplary embodiments may contain locationinformation for numerous emergency responders and numerous emergencies.Exemplary embodiments of the second profile allow the emergencycommander to selectively choose an emergency responder or a particularemergency and the second profile may then display information particularto that emergency or emergency responder.

Exemplary embodiments of the second profile contain traffic navigationinformation from a particular emergency responder's location to thelocation of the emergency situation. The first profile may depict a mapand will be able to provide the best possible route from the emergencyresponder's location to the location of the emergency as server 128 hastaken into account other emergencies, road conditions, and detours. Thesecond profile also may contain the location information of multipleemergency responder user equipments such that the Emergency CommanderUser Equipment may direct, interact, and communicate with a particularemergency responder.

The second profile may also selectively contain medical informationabout the individual or individuals involved in the emergency. Based onthe particular type of emergency entered by the 911 Dispatcher 116,server 128 will provide to the Emergency Commander User Equipment 126through the second profile, pertinent medical information about theindividual or individuals involved in the emergency. The emergencycommander in exemplary embodiments will be able to selectively choosewhich medical information is provided based on the particular emergencythat is selected by the emergency commander.

The second profile may also include predictive information about theemergency. Again, the second profile can display, based on theparticular emergency that is selected, predictive information particularto that emergency. For instance, based on the aggregated information inserver 128, the predictive information may include the likelihood interms of a percentage of the cause of the emergency, a likely bestpossible response to the emergency or the likelihood of certain elementsat the location of the emergency, such as the possibility of adefibrillator or a firearm.

The second profile may include perimeter intelligence information aboutthe location of the emergency. Based on the particular emergencyselected by the emergency commander, the second profile may provideperimeter intelligence information specific to the selected emergency.The Perimeter intelligence will include any type of information that mayprove useful about the location of the emergency. The perimeterintelligence may also include information about the building where theemergency is located as well as information about individuals known tobe in the area. For example, the perimeter intelligence may includeinformation about the construction of the building where the emergencyis located and the types of materials used in constructing the building.Alternatively, the perimeter intelligence may include informationregarding nearby resources such as fire hydrants. If the location of theemergency is in an area with high rates of crime then this informationmay be included in the perimeter intelligence.

The second profile may further include geofencing around a givenemergency location. A geofence defines a virtual area surrounding alocation indicating an area of an emergency or resource. In otherexemplary embodiments, a geofence can also define an area surrounding alocation of an emergency responder or an electronic device that is worn,carried, or operated by an emergency responder, an individual, oremergency commander. The geofence can also accurately record and monitorattendance to an emergency call. As the location of a given emergencyresponder coincides with the perimeter of the geofence, the emergencyresponder will be marked as having responded to the emergency situation.In other words, the second profile shows the location information of anemergency responder and tracks when an emergency responder actuallyresponds to an emergency by recording when the emergency responderenters the geofenced area.

In exemplary embodiments, a geofence is created around an item, such asEmergency Responder User Equipments 124, a resource, an emergencylocation, or the like. The locations of the Emergency Responder UserEquipments 124 are typically tracked and determined using a globalpositioning system (GPS). Exemplary embodiments of the EmergencyResponder User Equipments 124 include the capability to communicate andtransmit data such that they can relay information with GPS networks todetermine their location. Once the Emergency Responder User Equipments124 determine their individual global position, they continuously orperiodically transmit their position to server 128, which in turnupdates the second profile. Resources and emergency locations typicallyare not equipped with GPS tracking capabilities. Accordingly, exemplaryembodiments of this disclosure may rely on current address and mappingdata such that GPS networks can determine the global position of aresource or emergency location.

In other exemplary embodiments GPS enabled devices, such as mobilephones, smartphones, or wearables, can periodically transmit theirposition to a server 128 after a given time or after a certain distanceis travelled. The server 128 will compare the location informationprovided by the device to the location of stationary objects nearby. Ifthe location is within a pre-defined threshold, the server128 determinesthat a user is at a particular location.

Once the position of Emergency Responder User Equipments 124, resources,or emergency locations are determined, Server 128 creates a user definedvirtual geographic perimeter encompassing the geographic location of theEmergency Responder User Equipments 124, resources, or emergencylocation. The virtual geographic perimeter in exemplary embodiments is auniform user defined distance from the Emergency Responder UserEquipments 124, resource, or emergency location. In other embodiments,the virtual geographic perimeter is not a uniform distance from theEmergency Responder User Equipments 124, resources, or emergencylocation and can be any shape or size.

The global position of the Emergency Responder User Equipments 124 istracked using GPS networks such that it can be recorded by the EmergencyResponder User Equipments 124 or server 128 when the Emergency ResponderUser Equipments 124 global position changes from being outside thevirtual geographic perimeter to inside the virtual geographic perimeter(enters) or changes from being inside the virtual geographic perimeterto outside the virtual geographic perimeter (exits). Other exemplaryembodiments also include other methods of tracking the geographiclocation of Emergency Responder User Equipments 124, resources, oremergency locations, such as through mobile phone networks, wirelessinternet networks, or private networks.

For non-GPS enable devices, the device can be equipped with a low power,or passive transmitter. The difference between a passive transmitter andactive transmitter is that an active transmitter requires its own powersource whereas a passive transmitter relies on an external device. Anexample of a passive transmitter would include an anti-theft devicefound in retail stores that is attached to clothing or other items forsale, which activates alarms when it passes through detectors located atthe exits of the retail store.

Exemplary embodiments of geofencing include the use of active receiversat an emergency location. It can be determined whether a giventransmitter or device is within range of the emergency location bydetermining whether the device receives a signal from the activereceivers. If a signal is received, the device is within range and thuswithin the geofence. If no signal is received, the device is assumed tobe outside of the range and outside of the geofence. This particularembodiment may be ideally used for instances where the location inquestion is not fixed.

Exemplary embodiments of geofencing also include the placement of smallreceivers around a location, or at key entry and exit points. In oneembodiment, the receivers can be configured in pairs to determine thedirection of travel of an active transmitter device. In thisconfiguration, the location information received by the receivers iscompared to one another other such that it is possible to determine forexample a device's approximate location, or if the device is in abuilding or has left the building. If a device has been removed from thebuilding, further exemplary embodiments including comparing receiverdata with video camera data or badge swipe device technology such thatit can be determined which party is responsible for the removing thedevice. Additional exemplary embodiments include the use of receiversand transmitters to determine a specific location of a device usingradio-frequency triangulation technics. In other exemplary embodiments,a virtual geographic perimeter can be created around the location of anemergency. For instance, if the emergency call was made by a GPS enableddevice the location of the calling device can be determined using GPSnetworks or by determining the position of the emergency based on thenearest address provided by the caller. Server 128, having received thelocation information for Emergency Responder User Equipments 124, mayindicate in the first profile or through an audio or visual alert on theEmergency Responder User Equipments 124 notifying all of the emergencyresponders within the virtual geographic perimeter of the emergency.

Referring to FIG. 2, presented is a flowchart illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of the steps for enhanced emergency response. At block 202 anindividual or automated system contacts 911 and answers the typicalquestions asked by the 911 dispatcher, such as the particular type ofemergency situation, the location of the emergency, and the peopleinvolved in the emergency situation. If it is an automated system thenthe only information provided will be that information which theautomated system is programmed to provide, such as location informationand the cause of the alarm. Then at block 204 the 911 dispatcher inaddition to notifying the proper emergency responders enters theinformation gathered from the 911 call info a server. This entering ofinformation can be done by the 911 dispatcher as a separate entry fromthe system where it is normally entered or it can be donesimultaneously. For example, the information gathered from the 911 callmay be entered into the server by a voice recognition software thatenters the information during the telephone call or it canelectronically pull the information directly from the systems thatmaintain the records of the 911 dispatcher.

Then at block 206, the server pulls information from numerous differentdata sources to create two profiles. Some exemplary embodiments ofdifferent data sources include public records, private records, medicalrecords, and real-time information. The flowchart continues at block 208where the first profile is sent to emergency responders' userequipments. Then at block 210 the server sends the second profile to theemergency commander user equipment. At block 212 the appropriate actionis taken by the emergency responders to respond appropriately to theemergency situation based on the information from the first profile andthe second profile. It should be appreciated that FIG. 2 merely providesone exemplary flowchart of the process of exemplary emergency response.In other exemplary embodiments the first profile sent to emergencyresponders' user equipments at block 208 can be customized by theemergency commander user equipment, which can send updated informationor specific instructions to the server. The server then incorporates thecustomizations from the emergency commander and sends the first profileto the emergency responders' user equipments at block 208.

Referring to FIG. 3, provided is an exemplary embodiment of a profilesuitable for use with exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Theprofile 302 depicted in FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment of a profilethat may be sent to the user equipments of emergency responders. As canbe seen in FIG. 3, provided is a map containing buildings 312 andstreets 310. Shown in profile 302 is the current location of oneparticular emergency responder user equipment 304. The line 306indicates the best route to the emergency, which is signified by star308. Profile 302 also includes at block 314 address information,perimeter intelligence, health information, emergency information, andpredictive information about the location of the emergency and theindividuals involved in the emergency.

It should be appreciated that even though in the embodiment shown inFIG. 3 there is only one emergency 308, exemplary embodiments of profile302 may include multiple emergency locations. Also shown in FIG. 3 isroad hazard 316, which may signify a road block or other type ofcondition that would prevent the emergency responder from choosing thatroute to the emergency 308.

Referring to FIG. 4, provided is an exemplary embodiment of a secondprofile 402 suitable for use with exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the second profile 402 includes amap layout with buildings 408 and streets 406. Also shown in profile 402are locations of multiple emergency responders 404. When a particularemergency responder 404 is selected, the best route 410 to the emergency412 is displayed. Circle 414 represents a geofence surrounding theemergency 412 for tracking when an emergency responder 404 enters theemergency situation.

Block 416 of profile 402 displays the address of the emergency,perimeter intelligence, health information, emergency information, andpredictive information for the particular emergency selected. If adifferent emergency is selected, such as emergency 418, a different setof information is displayed at block 416 with information that isparticular to emergency 418.

FIG. 5 presents a summary of the above teachings for enhanced emergencyresponse. Block 502 presents receiving, by a processor, a plurality ofdata corresponding to a geographic location from a plurality of datasources; aggregating, by the processor, the plurality of data;determining, by the processor, a first profile and a second profilebased on the aggregated plurality of data; and transmitting, by theprocessor, the first profile to a plurality of user equipments and thesecond profile to at least one user equipment, wherein the at least oneuser equipment is different from the plurality of user equipments. Thenblock 504 specifies further wherein the plurality of data comprisesemergency information, location information, and incident descriptioninformation.

Some of the non-limiting implementations detailed above are alsosummarized at FIG. 5 following block 504. Block 506 relates to whereinthe plurality of data comprises historic public and private informationcomprising historic traffic patterns, public records, historic siteinformation, historic consumption patterns, private records, maps anddemographics. Block 508 specifies wherein the plurality of datacomprises medical records of a third party. Block 510 further specifieswherein the plurality of data comprises real-time information, andwherein the real-time information further comprises medical recordrelease information.

Then proceeding to block 512, which specifies wherein the first profilecomprises traffic navigation information, medical information,predictive information, user specific information, and locationinformation corresponding to the geographic location. Finally at block514 it is stated that wherein the second profile comprises availabilityinformation, ability information, and location information of each userof the plurality of user equipments and wherein the second profilefurther comprises traffic navigation information, medical information,predictive information, and geographic proximity information for anincident and the plurality of user equipments corresponding to thegeographic location.

Thus, the present system pulls information from numerous resources anddatabases to create two profiles with pertinent and applicableinformation that is sent to user equipments.

The logic diagram of FIG. 5 may be considered to illustrate theoperation of a method, and a result of execution of computer programinstructions stored in a computer-readable memory, and a specific mannerin which components of an electronic device are configured to cause thatelectronic device to operate, whether such an electronic device is aserver, computer, user equipment or some other device, or one or morecomponents thereof. The various blocks shown in FIG. 5 may also beconsidered as a plurality of coupled logic circuit elements constructedto carry out the associated function(s), or specific result of stringsof computer program instructions or code stored in a memory.

Various embodiments of the computer-readable medium or computer-readablememory include any data storage technology type which is suitable to thelocal technical environment, including but not limited to semiconductorbased memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, opticalmemory devices and systems, fixed memory, removable memory, disc memory,flash memory, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), static random-accessmemory (SRAM), electronically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM) and the like. Various embodiments of the processor include butare not limited to general purpose computers, special purpose computers,microprocessors, digital signal processors and multi-core processors.

Referring to FIG. 6, shown is diagram of devices suitable for practicingexemplary embodiments of this disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates anindividual 602 with electronic device 604 having a transmitter/receiver606. Electronic device 604 can be any mobile user equipment suitable forcalling or notifying emergency services that there is an emergency. Someexemplary embodiments of electronic device 604 include mobile phones,two way radios or direct signaling devices to third party emergencyservices.

Electronic device 604 in exemplary embodiments is able to communicatevia communication line 636 with emergency services or 911 dispatcher608. Emergency services or 911 dispatcher 608 in exemplary embodimentsincludes an transmitter/receiver 610 and a means for communicating withand inputting emergency information into network 612 via communicationline 638. Exemplary embodiments of means for communicating with andinputting emergency information into a network include computers,processors, and memories.

Exemplary embodiments of network 612 include the internet, cellularnetworks, public networks, private networks, local area networks, andwireless area networks. Network 612 provides a conduit for communicationbetween the different elements described in FIG. 6.

Also shown in FIG. 6 is server 620 including processor 622 and memory624 containing computer program instructions, which when executed onprocessor 622 can cause processor 622 to perform exemplary embodimentsof this disclosure. Server 620 also includes transmitter/receiver 626and is able to communicate with network 612 via communication line 640.

FIG. 6 also illustrates an emergency responder user equipment 628including processor 630 and memory 632 containing computer programinstructions, which when executed on processor 630 can cause processor630 to perform exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Emergencyresponder user equipment 628 also includes transmitter/receiver 634 andis able to communicate with network 612 via communication line 644.

FIG. 6 further depicts emergency commander user equipment 614 includingprocessor 616 and memory 618 containing computer program instructions,which when executed on processor 616 can cause processor 616 to performexemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Emergency commander userequipment 614 also includes transmitter/receiver 650 for communicatingwith network 612 via communication line 642.

Network 612 is also able to communicate with databases 646 viacommunication line 648. Exemplary embodiments of databases 646 includepublic databases, public databases, medical databases, emergencyinformation databases, criminal statistic databases, and real-timesystems. It can be appreciated that exemplary embodiments ofcommunication lines 638, 640, 642, 644, and 648 include any type ofcommunication network available, such as cellular networks, radionetwork, private networks, public networks, telephone networks, and thelike.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 for taking vast amounts of information andcreating and transmitting profiles to aid in enhanced emergencyresponse. The transmitting and receiving of information or data betweenthe different elements of these exemplary systems can be through amessage-passing interface that leverages conventional message-passingconstructs while adding additional functionality to reduce latency andimprove security. This messaging is further described below.

Computers typically communicate with each other over aninternet-protocol (IP) connection. With an IP connection, computers areeach assigned a unique IP address. IP addresses are described in theform of aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd, where each three digit segment is a number inthe range of 000 to 255. However, since IP addresses are difficult toremember, each IP address has been mapped to a specific Domain Name.

Load balancing is the method of distributing the workload of a networkamong a number of computers to reduce the workload on an individualcomputer. There are two primary methods of load balancing that can beused to improve overall performance of a system. The first method isknown as round-robin Domain Name System (DNS) and the second isload-balancing proxy.

Round-robin DNS operates such that multiple IP addresses are registeredfor a domain name. For instance, yahoo.com has three IP addressesregistered, 98.139.183.24, 206.190.36.45, and 98.138.253.109. When acomputer tries to connect to yahoo.com, it will pick one of those threeIP addresses and attempt to connect to it. If the selected IP address isunavailable, a retry mechanism will attempt another IP address after acertain amount of time.

FIG. 7 depicts the operation of a load-balancing proxy server. In thisinstance, the client 702 does not transmit directly to servers 706.Rather, client 702 connects to proxy server (the load-balancer) 704 andthe proxy server 704 passes the work off to other servers 706.

Round-robin DNS and load-balancing proxy can be used in combinationwhere there are multiple proxy-servers all registered for the samedomain name. The proxy-servers are load balanced by the client via DNS,and the proxy-server distributes the work. This method is utilizedmostly by large websites such as google.com and amazon.com.

While the combination of round-robin DNS and load-balancing proxy worksreasonably well for conventional Internet traffic (e.g., web and emailtraffic), it is not well suited for applications where end-to-endlatency, security, and reliability are primary concerns. There are threemain reasons that this combination may not be well suited.

First, in a round-robin system, when a client attempts to reach acertain IP address a time-out mechanism is used such that the clientknows when to retry on another server when no response is received fromthe IP address. This retry mechanism is fairly long as to ensure aserver is really unavailable, thus avoiding duplicate messages frombeing delivered to multiple servers. This retry mechanism thus increasesthe latency in a system at least by the time period that must be waitedbefore attempting another server.

Second, in the round-robin system, the server cannot indicate to theclient whether it is available or busy. Therefore, the client attemptsto connect with the servers by simply alternating between all theservers in the list without regard to the loading on a particularsystem. Accordingly, the client can waste time attempting to connect toa server that is not available.

Third, the client must establish a secure connection to each server onevery connection. The security mechanism requires multiple exchanges ofinformation to establish both encryption (message security) andauthenticity (to verify that both the client and server are who theyclaim). Again, this security mechanism simply adds additional time thatis required to connect to a server and thus affecting the latency in thesystem.

A reverse proxy can overcome some of these issues associated with thecombination of round-robin DNS and load-balancing proxy because it cancommunicate with backend servers to determine the load of each serverand only send requests to the servers that have sufficiently availableresources. Yet, a major issue with a reverse proxy server is that it isa single point-of-failure. That is, if the reverse proxy server failsfor any reason, the entire system is unavailable. Thus, the proxy serverdoes not overcome the issue of long retry times or latency incurred whenestablishing a secure connection.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure where the set of serversis relatively static provide a mechanism that can be employed to reducelatency, improve reliably and load balance effectively. In thisexemplary system, there exists one or more registration services towhich clients and servers connect to upon instantiation. When a servercomes online, it sends a message to the registration services indicatingits connection information, including its IP address. The registrationservers then forward this information to each client so the clients knowto which servers they should connect.

FIG. 8. illustrates an exemplary system for this type of messaging.Shown in FIG. 8 are servers 802 and 804. When servers 802 and 804connect to the network, such as a LAN, wireless area network or theinternet, they send a message to each registration server 808 and 806indicating their connection information. The registration servers 806and 808 then forward this connection information to the clients 810.

Each client 810 keeps track of a list of all available servers 802 and804 and employs a round-robin mechanism to distribute the workload amongthe servers 802 and 804. Two key differences make this system morerobust than prior arrangements. First, connections between the clients810 and the servers 802 and 804 are static. That is, once a client 810or servers 802 or 804 comes online, a connection from each client 810 isestablished to every server 802 and 804. Pre-placed encryption keys areutilized between the servers 802 and 804 and clients 810 to minimize theamount of time that is required to establish the connection.Additionally, pre-placed keys offer a solid form of authenticationbetween the servers 802 and 804 and clients 810.

In order to further reduce latency and eliminate the possibility ofduplicate messages between clients and servers, each message utilizes atime-to-live (TTL). The TTL provides a time by which the server MUSTrespond to the message. Each TTL is generated by the client and sent aspart of its messages. It should be noted that in order for the TTL towork as intended, all clients and servers must have synchronized clocks.This can be achieved by utilizing a Network Time Protocol (NTP)throughout the system.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary message format utilized for this messaginginterface. As shown in FIG. 9 an exemplary message includes a source IPaddress 902 indicating the IP address of the entity that originated themessage, a destination IP address 904 indicating the IP address of theintended recipient of the message, a packet ID 906 indicating anidentifier of the packet, a TTL 908, and the message 910 itself. Whenresponding to the message shown in FIG. 9, the server or client caneither ‘acknowledge’ (ACK) or ‘not-acknowledged’ (NAK). In the case ofan ACK, the server is not obligated to provide the results of itsprocessing, but if it cannot provide a result, it must ACK the responsewith another time indicating a time by which the server will respondwith the meaningful response.

FIG. 10 shows the most common case, where the server 1002 immediatelysends an ACK to the request from the client 1004 with the response. Inorder for this to occur, the server must be able to perform whateverrequired calculations are needed before the TTL expires. As shown inFIG. 10, the client 1004 is directed to send a message with a TTL toserver 1002. Server 1004 then sends an ACK with a response to client1004.

FIG. 11 depicts a scenario where the server 1104 NAKs the response andthe client 1102 then moves on to the second server 1106 to try anddeliver the message. This situation likely occurs when there are notenough available resources on server 1104 to process the request. Theprocess in FIG. 11 begins with client 1102 sending a message with a TTLto server 1104. Server 1104 responds to client 1102 with a NAKindicating that server 1104 is not able to service client 1102. Client1102 then sends a message with a TTL to server 1106. Server 1106responds to client 1102 with an ACK and a response.

FIG. 12 illustrates the case where the server has sufficient resources,but cannot send a response to the request within the specified TTL. Thismay occur if the message requires a complex calculation, or if there isa dependency on an external process, such as geocoding that requiresmore time than the TTL. The process begins by the client 1202 sending amessage with a TTL to server 1204. Server 1204 is not able to respond tothe message before the TTL expires. In this situation, server 1204responds to the message by sending an ACK with PEND (5) to client 1202.This signifies to client 1202 that server 1202 is guaranteeing it willprovide a response in 5 seconds. If it does not, the client 1202 willretry the message on another server. Server 1204 then responds again toclient 1202 with an ACK with response to the message. Before server 1204responds to the client 1202, the server 1204 must validate that the TTLhas not expired. This prevents duplicate messages from being propagated.If the TTL expired, then the client has already retried connecting toanother server. The server 1204 thus would not send a message becausethe original message is now invalid.

Additionally, in order to most efficiently handle messages, a client canmark a server ‘unavailable’ if it does not get a response before the TTLexpires. When a server is marked ‘unavailable’, it will not be sentmessages from the client. However, the client can periodically send atest message to the server to determine if the server is still‘unavailable’. Once a server is no longer ‘unavailable’, the client canmark the server as available and the client will be free to send itmessages.

Further exemplary embodiments in accordance with the present disclosureare detailed below:

Embodiment 1

A method of communicating, the method comprising: (a) receiving, by aprocessor, messages from a plurality of servers forwarded by a pluralityof registration servers, wherein the messages include connectioninformation for the plurality of servers; (b) transmitting, by theprocessor, a first message to one of the plurality of servers based onthe received connection information for the plurality of servers,wherein the message includes a timer; and (c) transmitting, by theprocessor, a second message to a different one of the plurality ofservers based on the received connection information for the pluralityof servers for the case that the processor does not receive a responseto the first message prior to the expiration of the timer.

Embodiment 2

The method according to embodiment 1, wherein the messages from theplurality of servers includes encryption keys for future messages.

Embodiment 3

The method according to embodiment 2, wherein the connection informationof the plurality of servers includes at least an internet protocol (IP)address for each of the plurality of servers.

Embodiment 4

The method according to embodiment 3, the method further comprisingmarking, by the processor, the one of the plurality of servers as‘unavailable’ for the case that the second message is transmitted.

Embodiment 5

The method according to embodiment 4, the method further comprisingtransmitting, by the processor, a test message to the one of theplurality of servers, wherein the test message verifies the availabilityof the one of the plurality of servers and includes a timer.

Embodiment 6

An apparatus comprising: at least one processor and at least one memorystoring computer program instructions, wherein the at least one memorywith the computer program instructions is configured with the at leastone processor to cause the apparatus to at least: receive, by aprocessor, messages from a plurality of servers forwarded by a pluralityof registration servers, wherein the messages include connectioninformation for the plurality of servers; transmit, by the processor, afirst message to one of the plurality of servers based on the receivedconnection information for the plurality of servers, wherein the messageincludes a timer; and transmit, by the processor, a second message to adifferent one of the plurality of servers based on the receivedconnection information for the plurality of servers for the case thatthe processor does not receive a response to the first message prior tothe expiration of the timer.

Embodiment 7

the apparatus according to embodiment 6, wherein the messages from theplurality of servers includes encryption keys for future messages.

Embodiment 8

the apparatus according to embodiment 7, wherein the connectioninformation of the plurality of servers includes at least an internetprotocol (IP) address for each of the plurality of servers.

Embodiment 9

the apparatus according to embodiment 8, the at least one processor andat least one memory storing computer program instructions further causethe apparatus to at least mark, by the processor, the one of theplurality of servers as ‘unavailable’ for the case that the secondmessage is transmitted.

Embodiment 10

the apparatus according to embodiment 9, the at least one processor andat least one memory storing computer program instructions further causethe apparatus to at least transmit, by the processor, a test message tothe one of the plurality of servers, wherein the test message verifiesthe availability of the one of the plurality of servers and includes atimer.

Embodiment 11

A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly comprising computerprogram instructions, which, when executed by a processor, causes theprocessor to at least: receive, by a processor, messages from aplurality of servers forwarded by a plurality of registration servers,wherein the messages include connection information for the plurality ofservers; transmit, by the processor, a first message to one of theplurality of servers based on the received connection information forthe plurality of servers, wherein the message includes a timer; andtransmit, by the processor, a second message to a different one of theplurality of servers based on the received connection information forthe plurality of servers for the case that the processor does notreceive a response to the first message prior to the expiration of thetimer.

Embodiment 12

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 11,wherein the messages from the plurality of servers includes encryptionkeys for future messages.

Embodiment 13

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 12,wherein the connection information of the plurality of servers includesat least an internet protocol (IP) address for each of the plurality ofservers.

Embodiment 14

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 13,wherein the computer program instructions, which, when executed by aprocessor, further causes the processor to at least mark, by theprocessor, the one of the plurality of servers as ‘unavailable’ for thecase that the second message is transmitted.

Embodiment 15

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 14,wherein the computer program instructions, which, when executed by aprocessor, further causes the processor to at least transmit, by theprocessor, a test message to the one of the plurality of servers,wherein the test message verifies the availability of the one of theplurality of servers and includes a timer.

Other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure include theembodiments enumerated below.

Embodiment 16

A method for monitoring, the method comprising: (a) locating, by aprocessor, a location of a first item and a location of at least onesecond item; (b) creating, by a processor, a virtual geographicperimeter encompassing at least a portion of the first item based on thelocation of the first item; and (c) recording, by the processor, a firstincident when the at least one second item crosses into the virtualgeographic perimeter surrounding the first item.

Embodiment 17

The method according to embodiment 16, wherein the first item is anemergency situation.

Embodiment 18

The method according to embodiment 16, wherein the first item is anemergency resource.

Embodiment 19

The method according to embodiment 16, wherein the at least one seconditem is a user equipment.

Embodiment 20

The method according to embodiment 16, the method further comprisingrecording, by the processor, a second incident when the at least onesecond item crosses out of the virtual geographic perimeter.

Embodiment 21

The method according to embodiment 16, the method further comprisingtransmitting, by the processor, an update to the at least one seconditem in response to the first incident.

Embodiment 22

The method according to embodiment 21, wherein the update is a warningbased on the location of the first item.

Embodiment 23

The method according to embodiment 21, wherein the update is a set ofinstructions.

Embodiment 24

The method according to embodiment 16, the method further comprisingtransmitting, by the processor, real-time information from the at leastone second item in response to the first incident.

Embodiment 25

The method according to embodiment 16, the method further comprisingtransmitting, by the processor, indicators to the at least one seconditem when an at least one third item crosses into or crosses out of thevirtual geographic perimeter.

Embodiment 26

The method according to embodiment 16, wherein a size of the virtualgeographic perimeter is user defined.

Embodiment 27

An apparatus comprising: at least one processor and at least one memorystoring computer program instructions, wherein the at least one memorywith the computer program instructions is configured with the at leastone processor to cause the apparatus to at least: locate a location of afirst item and a location of at least one second item; create a virtualgeographic perimeter encompassing at least a portion of the first itembased on the location of the first item; and record a first incidentwhen the at least one second item crosses into the virtual geographicperimeter surrounding the first item.

Embodiment 28

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, wherein the first item is anemergency situation.

Embodiment 29

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, wherein the first item is anemergency resource.

Embodiment 30

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, wherein the at least onesecond item is a user equipment.

Embodiment 31

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, the apparatus is furtherconfigured to at least record a second incident when the at least onesecond item crosses out of the virtual geographic perimeter.

Embodiment 32

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, the apparatus is furtherconfigured to at least transmit an update to the at least one seconditem in response to the first incident.

Embodiment 33

The apparatus according to embodiment 32, wherein the update is awarning based on the location of the first item.

Embodiment 34

The apparatus according to embodiment 32, wherein the update is a set ofinstructions.

Embodiment 35

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, the apparatus furtherconfigured to at least transmit real-time information from the at leastone second item in response to the first incident.

Embodiment 36

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, the apparatus furtherconfigured to at least transmit indicators to the at least one seconditem when an at least one third item crosses into or crosses out of thevirtual geographic perimeter.

Embodiment 37

The apparatus according to embodiment 27, wherein a size of the virtualgeographic perimeter is user defined.

Embodiment 38

A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly comprising computerprogram instructions, which, when executed by a processor, causes theprocessor to at least: locate a location of a first item and a locationof at least one second item; create a virtual geographic perimeterencompassing at least a portion of the first item based on the locationof the first item; and record a first incident when the at least onesecond item crosses into the virtual geographic perimeter surroundingthe first item.

Embodiment 39

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,wherein the first item is an emergency situation.

Embodiment 40

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,wherein the first item is an emergency resource.

Embodiment 41

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,wherein the at least one second item is a user equipment.

Embodiment 42

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,the computer program instructions further causes the processor to atleast record a second incident when the at least one second item crossesout of the virtual geographic perimeter.

Embodiment 43

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,the computer program instructions further causes the processor to atleast transmit an update to the at least one second item in response tothe first incident.

Embodiment 44

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 43,wherein the update is a warning based on the location of the first item.

Embodiment 45

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 43,wherein the update is a set of instructions.

Embodiment 46

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,the computer program instructions further causes the processor to atleast transmit real-time information from the at least one second itemin response to the first incident.

Embodiment 47

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,the computer program instructions further causes the processor to atleast transmit indicators to the at least one second item when an atleast one third item crosses into or crosses out of the virtualgeographic perimeter.

Embodiment 48

The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to embodiment 38,wherein a size of the virtual perimeter is user defined.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of aiding emergency response, the methodcomprising: (a) receiving, by a processor, an indication of an emergencysituation; (b) receiving, by the processor, a plurality of datacorresponding to a geographic location of the emergency situation from aplurality of data sources; (c) aggregating, by the processor, theplurality of data; (d) determining, by the processor, a first profileand a second profile based on the aggregated plurality of data relevantto the emergency situation; and (e) transmitting, by the processor, thefirst profile to a plurality of user equipments and the second profileto at least one user equipment different from the plurality of userequipments.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality ofdata comprises emergency information, location information, and incidentdescription information.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein theplurality of data comprises historic public and private informationcomprising historic traffic patterns, public records, historic siteinformation, historic consumption patterns, private records, maps anddemographics.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pluralityof data comprises medical records of a third party.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the plurality data comprises real-timeinformation, and wherein the real-time information further comprisesmedical record release information.
 6. The method according to claim 1,wherein the first profile comprises traffic navigation information,medical information, predictive information, user specific information,and location information corresponding to the geographic location. 7.The method according to claim 1, wherein the second profile comprisesavailability information, ability information, and location informationof each user of the plurality of user equipments and wherein the secondprofile further comprises traffic navigation information, medicalinformation, predictive information, and geographic proximityinformation for an incident and the plurality of user equipmentscorresponding to the geographic location.
 8. An apparatus comprising: atleast one processor and at least one memory storing computer programinstructions, wherein the at least one memory with the computer programinstructions is configured with the at least one processor to cause theapparatus to at least: receive an indication of an emergency situation;receive a plurality of data corresponding to a geographic location ofthe emergency situation from a plurality of data sources; aggregatingthe plurality of data; determining a first profile and a second profilebased on the aggregated plurality of data relevant to the emergencysituation; and transmitting the first profile to a plurality of userequipments and the second profile to at least one user equipment,wherein the at least one user equipment is different from the pluralityof user equipments.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein theplurality of data comprises emergency information, location information,and incident description information.
 10. The apparatus according toclaim 8, wherein the plurality of data comprises historic public andprivate information comprising historic traffic patterns, publicrecords, historic site information, historic consumption patterns,private records, maps and demographics.
 11. The apparatus according toclaim 8, wherein the plurality of data comprises medical records of athird party
 12. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein theplurality of data comprises real-time information, and wherein thereal-time information further comprises medical record releaseinformation.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the firstprofile comprises traffic navigation information, medical information,predictive information, user specific information, and locationinformation corresponding to the geographic location.
 14. The apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein the second profile comprises availabilityinformation, ability information, and location information of each userof the plurality of user equipments and wherein the second profilefurther comprises traffic navigation information, medical information,predictive information, and geographic proximity information for anincident and the plurality of user equipments corresponding to thegeographic location.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumtangibly comprising computer program instructions, which, when executedby a processor, causes the processor to at least: receive an indicationof an emergency situation; receive a data plurality of datacorresponding to a geographic location of the emergency situation from aplurality of data sources; aggregate the plurality of data; determine afirst profile and a second profile based on the aggregated plurality ofdata relevant to the emergency situation; and transmit the first profileto a plurality of user equipments and the second profile to at least oneuser equipment, wherein the at least one user equipment is differentfrom the plurality of user equipments.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the plurality ofdata comprises emergency information, location information, and incidentdescription information.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 15, wherein the plurality of data comprises historicpublic and private information comprising historic traffic patterns,public records, historic site information, historic consumptionpatterns, private records, maps and demographics.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the plurality ofdata comprises medical records of a third party
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the plurality ofdata comprises real-time information, and wherein the real-timeinformation further comprises medical record release information. 20.The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15,wherein the first profile comprises traffic navigation information,medical information, predictive information, user specific informationand location information corresponding to the geographic location. 21.The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15,wherein the second profile comprises availability information, abilityinformation, and location information of each user of the plurality ofuser equipments and wherein the second profile further comprises trafficnavigation information, medical information, predictive information, andgeographic proximity information for an incident and the plurality ofuser equipments corresponding to the geographic location.